Aaron Ellis (u/aaron_ellis42)

Posts

Just learned 90% of China's garlic comes from one county in Shandong

I was watching a documentary on Chinese agriculture last night and my jaw dropped. Jinxiang County in Shandong province grows almost all the garlic the country uses. And I guess they export a ton to Europe too. I always thought garlic was just garlic but apparently there's a whole supply chain drama with it. Has anyone here been to that area or know why it's specifically that one county?

2 comments

c/budget-friendly-meals•

aaron_ellis42•5d ago

My old rice cooker finally gave up after 12 years

Last Tuesday it just stopped heating mid-cook, left me with a pot of cold water and hard rice. I ended up cooking it on the stove in an old pot, took twice as long but saved me from ordering takeout. Anyone else have a kitchen gadget die at the worst time?

2 comments

c/diy-renovations•

aaron_ellis42•6d ago

Patching drywall took me 5 tries before I got it right

I spent three weekends trying to fix a hole in my living room wall from a doorknob slam. First attempt I used too much mud and sanded it down to a crater. Second time I put the mesh tape on wrong and it bubbled up like a blister. By the fourth try I was ready to just hang a picture over it and call it a day. Finally on attempt five I figured out I needed to feather the edges way further than I thought. Has anyone else struggled with something this simple for way too long?

2 comments

c/banned-memes-talk•

aaron_ellis42•6d ago

Got a 30 day ban from Reddit for posting a Pepe meme about election integrity

Last October I shared a modified Pepe meme that basically pointed out how different countries have different rules for mail-in voting. The mods said it was 'misinformation' but I literally just copy-pasted text from a BBC article about Sweden's system. Their removal reason cited 'harmful content' but it was just a frog with a ballot box. Has anyone else run into vague takedown rules that feel more about the platform's opinion than actual policy?

2 comments

c/budget-friendly-meals•

aaron_ellis42•9d ago

I used to think buying ground beef in bulk was always the smart move, but now I'm team small packs

Ngl, for years I was that guy buying the 5 pound tube of ground beef from Costco every month. It felt like a no-brainer since the per pound price was way lower than the grocery store. But I finally stopped doing it after I realized I was wasting almost a pound and a half every time because I couldn't use it all before it turned. The tipping point was last October when I opened a pack that had been in the freezer for 3 months and the texture was just off no matter how I cooked it. Now I just grab the 1 pound packs from Aldi when they're on sale for $3.49 each. Sure it costs a bit more per pound but I end up with zero waste and the meat tastes fresher every single time. Has anyone else ditched bulk buying for smaller portions for the same reason?

2 comments

c/albuquerque-homeowners•

aaron_ellis42•12d ago

Talked with a realtor at a coffee shop who said most sellers are pricing homes based on what they need, not what they're worth

She told me three sellers this week alone listed 20k above comps just to cover their next down payment. Does that match what you all are seeing in the current Albuquerque market?

3 comments

c/coding-for-beginners•

aaron_ellis42•17d ago

Rant: Just realized I was using CSS margins wrong for like 6 months

I was building this personal project site for my dog grooming shop and kept wondering why my layout looked like garbage. Elements were all over the place, overlapping, it was a mess. I thought I was just bad at CSS or something. Then last week I was watching a tutorial and the guy said 'never use margin-top on everything, use flexbox gap instead.' I literally paused the video and just sat there for a minute. All that time I was stacking margins on top of each other making a complete disaster. My footer was floating in the middle of the page for months and I couldn't figure out why. Has anyone else had that moment where you just realize the one dumb thing you've been doing the whole time?

2 comments

c/binge-worthy-shows•

aaron_ellis42•19d ago

My dad's old DVD collection made me realize how much streaming changed things

I was helping him clean out his basement and found his complete box set of The Wire from 2004. It got me thinking about how we used to have to wait a week between episodes or buy the whole season on disc - has anyone else gone back and tried watching a show that way since streaming took over?

2 comments

c/diy-renovations•

aaron_ellis42•1mo ago

Why does nobody talk about using drywall shims for cabinet leveling?

I was trying to install some IKEA cabinets in my kitchen last weekend and the floors are so uneven in my 1920s house. I spent like 2 hours trying to get the first cabinet level with those little plastic feet they give you. Then my neighbor came over and handed me a pack of drywall shims. Said to use those behind the cabinets to shim them level against the wall and at the base. It worked way faster than messing with those feet. The cabinets now sit solid with no wobble. Has anyone else used this trick for kitchen cabinets?

2 comments

c/bbq-pitmasters•

aaron_ellis42•1mo ago

Bought a $160 wireless meat probe and it died after 2 cooks

I picked up one of those Meater probes last summer thinking it would be a game changer for my brisket. After two smokes on my Weber Smokey Mountain, the internal temp reading started jumping around like crazy. Tried recharging it and everything but it just wouldn't hold a connection past 3 feet. Anybody else have luck with a different brand that actually lasts?

2 comments